A NASA-funded industrial area station, Starlab, lately accomplished 4 key developmental milestones, marking substantial progress within the station’s design and operational readiness.
The 4 milestones are a part of a NASA Space Act Agreement awarded in 2021 and targeted on critiques of the habitat structural check article preliminary design, methods integration, built-in operations, and a habitat structural check plan.
“These milestone achievements are nice indicators to mirror Starlab’s dedication to the continued efforts and developments of their industrial vacation spot,” stated Angela Hart, program supervisor for NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program. “As we stay up for the way forward for low Earth orbit, each profitable milestone is one step nearer to making a dynamic and strong commercialized low Earth orbit.”
The industrial area station is designed to launch on a single flight and consists of a big habitation and laboratory module with a smaller service module for energy and propulsion.
Earlier this 12 months, Starlab Space accomplished a structural check article preliminary design overview, supported by NASA. The structural check article is an engineering improvement unit of the station’s habitation module, which is the place astronauts will spend most of their time residing and dealing aboard the long run industrial vacation spot. An engineering improvement unit is a bodily mannequin that’s used to check and confirm the design of a challenge, reminiscent of an area station.
Starlab additionally lately shared a check plan for the structural check article, which included defining qualification checks of the event unit from welding verifications to proof strain and static load testing, amongst others. During proof strain checks, a spacecraft part or system is pressurized to a considerably greater than regular working strain to confirm its structural integrity, and a static load check measures the response of a part or system underneath an utilized load.
In addition, Starlab accomplished integration operations and methods integration critiques. These critiques included updates on system and station structure, section interfaces, and program targets, in addition to a complete look into this system’s necessities.
Starlab additionally is ready to finish a preliminary design overview and section 1 security overview by the top of the 12 months. This overview is supposed to show that the station’s design meets system necessities, together with human spaceflight verification, with acceptable threat. The security overview will summarize the present design and normal security method for the vacation spot.
NASA is supporting the design and improvement of a number of industrial area stations, together with Starlab, by means of funded and unfunded agreements. The present design and improvement section shall be adopted by the procurement of providers from a number of corporations, the place NASA goals to be considered one of many shoppers for low Earth orbit locations.
NASA’s low Earth orbit microgravity technique builds on the company’s intensive human spaceflight expertise to advance future scientific and exploration targets. As the International Space Station nears the top of operations, NASA plans to transition to a brand new low Earth orbit mannequin to proceed leveraging microgravity advantages. Through industrial partnerships, NASA goals to take care of its management in microgravity analysis and guarantee continued advantages for humanity.
Learn extra about NASA’s low Earth orbit microgravity technique at:
https://www.nasa.gov/leomicrogravitystrategy
News Media Contacts:
Claire O’Shea
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov
Anna Schneider
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov
